Brent Council claims 11.3% reduction in its carbon footprint

From Brent Council

A recent report LINK shows Brent Council's carbon footprint has reduced by 11.3 per cent, totalling approximately £220K worth of savings per year.

CO₂ emissions have reduced from 14,189 tonnes in 2013/14 to 12,585 in 2015/16, creating a total reduction of 1605 tonnes. The reduction will continue as our Carbon Management Programme works towards its target of a 15 per cent total reduction.

This will involve replacing streetlights with greener LED upgrades, encouraging staff to reduce the energy used in council buildings and aiming to retrofit some buildings to make them more energy efficient and better for the environment.

Rescue Our Schools: Focus on free schools and grammar schools

From Rescue Our Schools

Rescue Our Schools - Families & communities standing up for state education

Dear Supporters,

For this, our 5th newsletter, we have decided to focus on Free Schools.

Did you know that local authorities are no longer permitted to open new schools maintained by them?
All new schools must either be academies (often set up by chains or MATs) or so-called "Free Schools". It seems they are costing us tax payers rather a lot...

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/2bn-fund-revealed-for-dfe-free-school-property-company/

Free Schools

Free schools have been hitting the headlines again, and not for good reasons. Last week the founder and former head of Kings Science Academy Bradford (one of the first wave of free schools in 2011), along with two staff, was convicted of fraudulently obtaining £150,000 from grants relating to the set up of the school. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36943526

Then it was revealed that the Michaela Free School  have a policy of putting pupils into lunchtime isolation if their parents have not paid their (compulsory) lunch bill. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3713583/Superhead-claimed-Britain-s-education-broken-puts-pupils-detention-lunch-restricts-food-parents-failed-pay-school-meals.html

Add to these clear examples of poor practice growing concerns about how much these additional free schools cost and that the whole programme is not living up to the claims that were made for it.

If there is a free school planned in your area, please look carefully at what is proposed, whether it is really needed, and what impact it might have on existing schools. Rescue Our Schools would like more focus on meeting the needs of existing schools than on extending choice for some at the expense of the system overall.

For more information about free schools and some of the problems associated with them, have a look at the Local Schools Network (www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk) or SchoolsWeek (www.schoolsweek.co.uk )

Will it be back-to-academy rather than back-to-school for your kids?

One of our followers has written a piece for our website about how she feels following the conversion of her children's primary school to an academy.

http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/news/2016/8/9/my-kids-school-is-converting-so-how-does-this-make-me-feel

If you have a state education story that you'd like to share with us and/or our followers, please do drop us a line: info@rescueourschools.co.uk.

Grammar Schools

By all accounts our new Prime Minister, Teresa May, is now considering lifting the long-standing ban on new grammar schools. This is a controversial issue, already triggering much debate. Read Rescue Our School's press release on the subject here: http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/

What do you think? Do you agree with us that selection means rejection for most pupils? We'd love to hear from you.

Calling all fundraisers and creatives !

Rescue Our Schools is looking for an experienced fundraiser and creatives to volunteer to help raise money so that we can launch some exciting new projects.

Please get in touch if you'd like to join our team! info@rescueourschools.co.uk

Keep spreading the word

We are keen for as many people as possible to know about what's happening to our state education system. If you are on social media, our Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of updates. Why not sign up, like our page or follow us? And if you have already, maybe you could ask your friends to do the same and subscribe to these newsletters? Or you could spark up a conversation with other parents you know? The more people who know about the peril are schools are in, the better.

Twitter: @RescueSchools

Fryent Country Park Rangeelu Gujerat event next weekend

Part of Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury, will be given over the Rangeelu Gujerat Festival on Saturday 20th August and Sunday 21st August.  The Festival will run from 10am until 8pm.

The London boroughs of Brent and Harrow have the highest number of Gujerati speakers in London and the event is supported by Brent Council.

The organiser's state:

The two day event will provide a large platform to showcase Gujarat's Arts, Literature, Food, Fashion, Music, Dance, Tourism and much more. Visitors will experience an interactive walk through of market stalls, scents,  artisans and street food, live music and a kite event. The folk dancers, along with traditional costumes, perform and there is Gujarati comedy offering back-home jokes and phrases. Rangeelu Gujarat is a celebration of life, festivities and culture of Gujarat. Discover bestowing grace and elegance and gather to experience the diverse traditions and the generosity and hospitality of Gujarati people.

The event will be held on the Upper Hydes meadow and according to an unsigned notice at the park entrance this has been closed to the public until Monday August 22nd. The Fryent Way car park will be closed from August 18th until August 22nd with temporary alternative parking at Richard's West.

See map below:

Wembley Creative Saturday Market invitation

Due to the information being somewhat confusing (see comments below)  I have deleted the original post and reproduce here the original email (unedited) from Regenovate.  I suggest you email them for any additional information.

Interested in running your own market stall?
Got a creative idea you'd like to try out?
We wanna hear from you!
Small Business opportunities at Creative Wembley Market

Creative Wembley Market is now taking applications for their Creative Wembley Market Initiative. The program offers participants the opportunity to trade at their weekend market at discounted rates for a 4 month period.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Delivered by Regenovate CIC and Brent Ward Working the project seeks to engage with local creative individuals, businesses  and community groups to promote innovative and alternative retail concepts on Wembley High Street.

We are particularly keen to support but not exclusively:
Residents from in and around Wembley High Street
Those who have a unique and creative product
Those who have had considerably creative input in their product
Those seeking to start their own small creative business
Those wishing to trial the response to their product
Those selling alternative food offerings / who have grown their own food

For more information please visit WWW.regenovatecic.co.uk where you can download our information pack or feel free to contactMark Banfield at info@regenovatecic.co.uk
Copyright © * 2015|* *|Regenovate CIC *, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
info@regenovatecic.co.uk

60 firefighters tackle fire in Wembley recycling depot

From the scene of the fire (Photo London Fire Brigade)

From London Fire Brigade

Eight fire engines and around 60 firefighters and officers were called to tackle a fire at a single storey warehouse used as a recycling depot on Hannah Close off Great Central Way in Wembley during the early hours of this morning.

Around 50 tonnes of rubbish was destroyed in the blaze.

Crews from Wembley, Park Royal, Hendon, Acton and surrounding fire stations were at the scene.
Station Manager Claiton Murray who attended the incident said:

Thankfully there were no injuries and because the location of the fire was on an industrial estate it wasn't near enough to roads or housing for the smoke to cause any disruption. Crews have worked hard to stop the fire spreading to other buildings.

The Brigade was called at 0214 and the fire was under control at 0654 but crews are expected to be at the scene for some time.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Inspiring Groundwork project on climate proofing social housing landscapes - ideas for Brent?

As we have learnt from the new park on the Chalkhill Estate green spaces can have a transformative impact on how people feel about their local areas and the social relationships on the estate. This video about work being carried out jointly by Groundwork and Hammersmith and Fulham Council  on three of their social housing estates shows how mitigation of the effects of climate change through  quite small measures can have a similar impact.

There are lessons here for Brent Housing Partnership in terms of their existing estates as well as for Brent Planners when examinining the many redevelopment proposals.  I hope there are people here in Brent who will get excited about the possibilities.

Upcoming events at Preston Community Library

News from Preston Community Library Hub (Carlton Avenue East, Wembley, HA9 8PL - Preston Road Tube)

Our August quiz, written by Shelagh and Vanita, is in The Preston, 161 Preston Rd, at 7.30 this Monday, 15 August. The quiz will start promptly at 8. Next month's quiz will be on Monday 19 September.

This Saturday's film at 7.30pm is  a 1937 classic  We also have a children's  Disney matinee at 11am on Sunday 14 August .Next week's film, on Saturday 20 August, the last of this summer's programme, will be a Colombian drama (15).



This coming Monday, 15 August, Ozkan Gedik from the College of NW London's Talking Therapies Service will be talking in the library about treatments for problems such as depression and anxiety which are available to anyone registered with a Brent GP. The event is free, refreshments will be available, and people will be able to speak privately to Ozkan after the talk.

This week also sees our first Story Time sessions (see flyer above) for children aged 3-6 and 7-10. These sessions are from 3 - 4 pm in the library this Friday and Saturday, 12 / 13 August, and next Friday 19 August. The Summer Reading Challenge for children aged 4-10 continues in the library throughout this month, and it's not too late for children to join.

Our ESOL classes are taking a break until September, but Ray's IT classes for adults continue on Saturdays from 11-1. Booking is essential, so if you're interested please phone Ray Patel on 07799 953229. Our new Wednesday art class started  last week; if you want to join, either phone Trixi on 020 8904 4795, or just come to the library at 3pm on Wednesday. I'm also hoping that Samantha, whose classes were hugely popular last year, will be starting a new yoga class on Sunday mornings from September. If you're interested, please contact Samantha on 07801 697712.

Finally, The Silvertones, who were the highlight of our Christmas party, are playing another benefit for the library in The Windermere at 7.30 on Sunday 4 September. They were fantastic at Christmas, and we're very happy they've agreed to play for us again.

The library, of course, remains open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. This means that we now have 22 shifts to fill every week - so if you want to help staff the library and keep it open, please get in touch. I hope to see lots of you in the weeks to come.
 

Brent proposes to combine Health Visitor and School Nurse services

A paper going to Cabinet on Monday proposes the procurement of a new 'joined up' 0-19 Health Visitor and School Nursing Service with a combined value of £6.6m.

Currently the Health Visitor and Family Nurse Service is provided by London North West Healthcare Trust and School Nursing by Central London NW Healthcare Trust.

There have been concerns, some of which I voiced in a delegation to Cabinet, about the lack of continuity between health visiting and school nursing, at the point where children start nursery. Early Years practitioners have found children arrive at nursery or reception with specific special needs that they haven't been informed about in advance.

One of the issues has been that engagement with health visitor services is not mandatory and that missed appointments are not followed up. Health Visitors are often the first people to become aware of a family's other needs. The paper LINK states: 

...The successful Provider will be required to demonstrate how their services and the staff teams employed will be pro-active and engage with families and their under 5s to support health needs and link into wider issues including housing, education, childcare, welfare and poverty. 

The service to be procured as outlined in this report will lead to the delivery of the Healthy Child Programme - the early intervention and prevention public health programme issued by the Department of Health which lies at the heart of universal services for children and their families. The early years are a crucial stage of life, and this service will provide an invaluable opportunity to identify families who are in need of additional support and children who are at risk of poor outcomes. 


To improve continuity across the services and age ranges, the Council is planning to combine health visiting and school nursing service so that professionals will be able to continue to work with the same children for a longer period of time rather than passing them to another service as they get 
older. This will improve the continuity for children and young people and their families. 

By commissioning these services together professionals will no longer be bound by the traditional age ranges of services, and both children and families can benefit by receiving support from the same professional for longer. It will also be expected to realise efficiencies through economies of scale and overhead and management costs. 

 The 'efficiencies' referred to in the last sentence are clearly something to scrutinise in the context of the impact of cuts on services but the joined up approach is something to be welcomed. The health of Under 5s was a matter of great concern in a report to Cabinet in January this year LINK.

There are an estimated 24,600 under 5s in Brent, an increase of 2,500 on 2010, but the rate of increase is expected to slow over the next few years. The resident population of 0-19 year olds is expected to increase by almost 10% over the next 5 years.

The new combined contract would start on April 1st 2017.